Yazdani not to be rushed back into action, coach Kaveh insists
Iranian wrestling sensation Hassan Yazdani will not be rushed back into action, the national freestyle team head coach Mohsen Kaveh said.
A winner of a national-high nine world and Olympic medals, Yazdani is expected to be sidelined for up to six months after a surgery on his injured shoulder in September, facing a race against time to make it to the Paris Olympics – starting July next year.
“I spoke with Hassan a couple of days ago. He is doing well with the recovery process and the physiotherapy sessions. I will be looking to have him in his best form for the Olympics,” Varzesh3 quoted Kaveh, who took over from former head coach Pejman Dorostkar last week, as saying.
“His health, however, is a top priority for us. He needs to be back on the mat in proper conditions first, before we decide on his Olympic campaign,” added the Iranian.
Yazdani had to cope with the shoulder problem through September’s World Championships in Belgrade, where he had yet another disappointing finish, by his own standards, after a fall defeat against his familiar foe David Taylor in the 86kg final, which gave the American a 3-1 lead in the head-to-head battles with the Iranian in the recent four major finals – including the showdown at the Tokyo Olympics.
The silver medal was still enough to secure the 86kg berth in Paris for Yazdani, meaning he will not have to be involved in the Olympic qualification events in the coming months.
However, the comments made by the Iranian federation chairman, Alireza Dabir, after Yazdani’s surgery raised doubts over the future of the 28-year-old’s career.
“No wrestler in Iran has fully recovered from a shoulder injury over the past 20 years. That’s what happened to me as my career came to an end when I was 25,” said Dabir, a gold medalist in Sydney 2000.
Already having an Olympic gold (2016) and silver under his belt, Yazdani will be hoping to overtake former taekwondoka Hadi Saei as the most decorated Iranian in the history of the Olympic Games in Paris.